Snow camping B.C. teenagers needed rescue when hypothermia took hold

MAPLE RIDGE, B.C. - Three teenagers who planned to camp on a mountain near Maple Ridge, B.C., had to be rescued when their equipment turned out to be insufficient for sub-zero temperatures.

Ridge Meadows Search and Rescue said in a statement on its Facebook page that the three males sent out a distress call on their emergency satellite beacon Saturday evening while camping on Alouette Mountain.

Rescuers called the group and determined they were not fully prepared to spend a night in the snow.

A team sent out to retrieve the trio encountered a slowdown with a punctured tire on its off-road vehicle and a second rescue team was forced to hike to the camping site.

The statement says rescuers reached the teens after midnight and "determined that the situation was a little more critical than initial information indicated."

Two of the teenagers were soaking wet from the hike up, and without a stove or other heat source they were beginning to suffer from hypothermia.

"They did have a tent and sleeping bags but these were not suitable for a mountain environment in winter," the statement said.